TwinIon

I'm curious how it is that this show is able to push out new seasons so quickly. I suppose being adapted is helpful, but still, it's an impressive speed.

I love things like this. Great video. Looks like Fractal was able to follow it up with the second kill screen:

I'm along for the ride with this one, but the idea of stealing the asteroid seems pretty dumb and I'm not really sure how we're supposed to read the character motivations. They're setting up the whole "heist" aspect just fine, but lets assume they succeed and get the asteroid into Mars orbit. It's not like Mars orbit is some deep gravity well that they couldn't escape. I'm pretty sure the delta v for asteroid capture isn't hugely different if it's in Mars orbit or the Suns. So if they still wanted to get it to earth, the M-7 nations could just run the same mission they're doing to capture it, but now there isn't a time limit. They can leisurely make more fuel, prep the rock, do all their calculations, and they'll have the experience of having done it once. Still sound easier than all the ships and robots and what not required to mine it from Mars. Lets say for some reason that they decide that post heist they really can't get it back to Earth, or they just crash it into Mars. Are we supposed to be under the impression that Dev and Ed expect to still be in charge, or is this entirely a self sacrifice to get Mars built into a new colony? Can Dev really think that Helios isn't just nationalized or dissolved or absorbed or something, or are we really supposed to think he just doesn't care as long as it turns Mars into more than a scientific outpost? Wasn't it this same episode where Margo and the Soviets conclude that Dev is in it for himself? I'm curious to see that they do with this, and I suspect the aftermath won't be clear until next season (if it gets one), but this show just keeps pushing the limits.

I haven't been diligent about tracking my movie watching, but I'll to a very rough ranking in tiers. I could probably move things around for hours, but I'll spare myself that for now. Poor Things and Oppenheimer are my top 2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse Killers of the Flower Moon Godzilla Minus One Barbie The Holdovers Past Lives Saltburn Beau is Afraid The Killer Asteroid City Polite Society Guardians 3 John Wick 4 Dungeons and Dragons Suzume Mutant Mayhem Return to Seoul May December Cocaine Bear The Boy and the Heron Rustin Maestro Creed 3 The Creator Missing They Cloned Tyrone Air Dead Reckoning Part 1 Dial of Destiny Haunting in Venice Blackberry Dream Scenario No One Will Save You Leave the World Behind Tetris The Marvels Napolean Balad of Songbirds and Snakes Movies I really didn't like: Equalizer 3 Blue Beetle Gran Turismo The Flash Rebel Moon Part 1 Still Very interested in seeing: The Iron Claw, Anatomy of a Fall, Zone of Interest, American Fiction, Ferrari

I have avoided "buying" any digital media for largely this reason, but I have given in a few times just for the convenience factor. The only exception is PC games, which I've largely accepted, but still don't love my reliance on Steam and what not.

Yeah, I misread that comment. I meant that Comcast and Disney were no goes for buying Paramount because of the network TV conflicts. I assumed that Comcast or Disney buying WBD would be unlikely due to anti-trust fears, even though Disney was able to get the Fox purchase through. I suppose that Comcast is possible, but there would still be some heavy scrutiny, much more than merging with Paramount. I could be wrong, but my recollection of that deal is that Murdoch always wanted to keep Fox TV because Fox Corp would continue to be a profitable company (thanks largely to Fox News). It was only Fox Sports that the DOJ prevented Disney from buying. I think it's dubious that a third CBS corp would be in that same position, but I imagine it would entirely depend on what that new CBS ended up with.

I was under the impression that Comcast was seen as an obvious no-go since they already own NBC, same for Disney thanks to ABC.

I was on the zero G flight with Steven Hawking.

I’d be really shocked if they go forward with that. MS has a unique incentive structure that allows them to devalue their own consoles. For Sony I just don’t see the benefit. Maybe their experiments with PC releases have started to show that PC sales don’t really eat too much into their console sales. Maybe they can project that they lose 500k PlayStation units, but can gain an extra 1M PC sales by releasing day and date it’s worth it, but that still seems unlikely to me. The extra PC sales would have to overcome the Steam tax plus whatever value you can assign to turning a single game sale into a potential PlayStation customer. That said, I’d love to see that be the case. It would probably save me from buying a PS5 Pro and give me the ability to play these games on my Steam Deck.

While I know this isn’t what will happen, I honesty think that unless the new Kang movies are shaping up to be real home runs, Disney should move on. Give time for Marvel to breathe, build up some hype for the next big thing, and make sure it’s really good. With the rights to all the formerly Fox characters, they have so much they could do, and it’s so important they get it right. There is still enough non-Kang related Marvel content in the works that it’s not like they’d be on a complete hiatus. Assuming they do re-cast him, I think they have a lot of latitude. If I’m not mistaken, he’s not always a black man in the comics. They don’t need to do a Terrance Howard situation and drop in a replacement with hardly a nod. They could cast anyone as Kang and find a way to make it work. Whoever they find, they also don’t need to emulate Majors’ version of Kang. I don’t really know what the character is like outside of what the MCU has given us, but it’s not like the multiverse limits them. I was about to start a list of exciting actors, but basically anyone could potentially fit into the role. I also think it’s kind of an interesting situation here in that they could potentially bring in a big name that might not want to agree to do Marvel stuff forever. I’m sure plenty of A-list actors don’t want to sign up for an endless Marvel run, but with a headlining role in just the biggest movies on Marvel’s calendar, that might be a more attractive opportunity for someone notable. Which isn’t to say that Marvel doesn’t already get plenty of top tier talent, but the nature of this role offers a unique chance. Whoever they find, I just hope they make the character as interesting as Majors did. Doesn’t seem like he’s the best dude, but I enjoyed his Kang. Watching anyone just try to step into that role instead of making it their own would be a real disappointment.

DC Studios Signs Jonathan Majors To $20 Million Contract WWW.THEONION.COM LOS ANGELES—Just hours after Marvel announced they dropped the newly disgraced actor from all upcoming projects, DC Studios confirmed Tuesday it had signed Jonathan Majors to a $20 million contract. “We are so excited to welcome Jonathan Majors to the DC universe, and we can’t wait to see him act alongside our best…

It is a bummer that Wolverine is so far out, I expected it in 24 or 25 at the latest given how quickly Insomniac moves. I'm guessing that Venom is a Miles Morales size game. I'm kinda surprised that we haven't seen more of it in these leaks given that it's the next game to be released, but it also doesn't look like dev on it even started until recently. That slide showing the distribution of dev resources is really interesting. At the beginning of this year they were working on two games at the same time. By 25 they'll be working on five! Most people will be working on only two of them, but still seems like quite a change. I think Insomniac is well run and will be able to handle it, but I hope that doesn't take a toll on the quality of their output. I'm not really sure what to make of SM3 potentially being a two part game. If the result is that we basically get two Spider-man games where the skill trees and the story all flow from one to another, great. If the result is that we get two lesser games that each tell half a story, that's less appealing to me than just getting SM3 and SM4.

Yeah, I agree that it gets resolved before they actually pull things from shelves. These kinds of things have happened before. Apple was probably holding out for a Presidential veto like they got when the ITC issued a ban on some iPhone and iPads. Now that the ITC has issued a final ruling and it's clear Biden won't step in, some hardcore negotiating will be taking place. Apple's watch revenue during the holiday quarter will probably be something like 10x Masimo's total yearly revenue. Apple has been fighting this patent case for years now, now it's probably just a matter of how much they pay.

In Poor Things the distorted lens of Yorgos Lanthimos infects everything like a virus. From the physical to metaphysical, nothing is left unchallenged or unchanged. The music rings with an eerie off-key whine, the sky swirls with unnatural tint and texture, buildings and boats twist themselves into unexpected shapes and colors. Here nothing is sacred. Not friendships or families, not science or religion, and certainly not sex. Here the duck-dog barks and the dog-chicken quacks. The occasional fisheye views bring into question if we should even be allowed to watch what is on screen, but it is impossible to turn away. Because it is glorious. A coming of age tale in the most bizarre possible way, Poor Things is, despite its trappings, a story of hope. It's a story about wielding reason in an unreasonable world, of finding love and pleasure despite unreasonable cruelty. It is, in a quite literal sense, a story about beauty. It's also quite funny. Sometimes it's funny because laughter feels like the only possible reaction to the absurdity on screen, and sometimes it's just slapstick. For all it's complexities and oddities, Poor Things is not a subtle film. God is dead, sex feels good, don't suffer fools, and maybe we should just be kind to one another. Picasso once said "it took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child." While Yorgos Lanthimos has never tried to make films like anyone else, with Poor Things he has shed even the pretense and is operating with the freedom of a filmmaker unbound by formality, yet still with an unmistakable skill and craftsmanship. He's joined in that pursuit by Emma Stone, who provides a whirlwind performance that perfectly embodies and amplifies the distorted reality on display. Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo is surprisingly effective as Bella's foppish paramour and Willem Dafoe is in his natural habitat as off-brand Frankenstein. All told, Poor Things is a triumph. Decadent in its eccentricities but all the while captivating and entertaining. If you have any curiosity or wonder left in you, it's well worth checking out.

It really depends on what you're looking for and what you've already seen. The back catalog of HBO runs deep with great shows and WB has a bunch of great movies on there. Recent shows that I'd highly recommend: Scavengers Reign for some freaky alien sci-fi. The Last of Us for the best video game adaptation to date. Succession for the one of the best dramas of all time. Chernobyl is depressing and captivating in equal measures. Barry is darkly funny. Station Eleven is one of the great post apocalypse stories. The Rehearsal is Nathan Fielder getting crazy and meta with his unique brand of comedy. How To With John Wilson is observational comedy unlike anything else.

Yikes. Nothing but pretty terrible reactions so far. There's a good chance I still watch it, but it's a shame this didn't work out.

Seems like it was probably the best choice for the studio and it’s the direction that I’d personally prefer them to take. The thing that I find interesting is that they were able to make this decision as Sony has made a big deal about wanting to go towards live service games, but also after it’s revealed how much trouble Bungie has been having lately. I would love to know what the calculus with dealing with Sony was in this case. Naughty Dog is arguably the best single player dev in the business. I look forward to whatever games they end up making.

I know that viewer hours is what matters to Netflix, but it's not a number that normal people really understand, so I wanted to figure out how many people actually watched these shows. If you do what Netflix does for it's weekly top 10 and just take hours viewed divided by the runtime, that works out to ~88M viewers for The Night Agent, 76M for Wednesday, and 60M for Beef. Then again, most people don't really finish shows all the way through, so you could probably increase those numbers by 50% or more to get an idea of how many people watched a good portion of the show.

Whatever gets us closer to Micro LED. I'm going to stick to OLED for now, but it's nice to see the tech progressing.

Pretty fun, but for some reason my xbox controller's A button keeps bringing up the menu. It is neat to run it at 1:1 and see the whole map.

I went to check this out last night and it's a bit funny and a bit sad, but I don't think it was weird enough. Cage is very good here as the straight man, a boring and unaccomplished professor that random people start dreaming about. It's a fun idea that toys with modern notions of fame and social media virality, but the real tragedy is that it ends up feeling more hollow than insightful or fun. It makes me wish that this premise had been explored by Spike Jonze or Ari Aster.

A friend of mine got to see it early and absolutely loved it. I've got my tickets for Thursday.

He'll be missed. He was a highlight in basically everything he was in. I was rewatching Fringe when Lance Reddick passed, and I've been rewatching B99. Such a shame to see such talented actors pass so young.

I like Alex Garland, and that sequence with Jesse Plemons looks great, but selling that premise is going to be hard work. I know trailers are chopped up and often provide incomplete or misleading context, but it sure seems like it's Texas and California against the rest of the US? That's an odd line to draw for a new civil war.

I'm pretty surprised by this outcome, and I agree that this being a Jury made a big difference in the outcome. I think Epic would have had a much better chance with a Jury against Apple. Google being more open is what doomed them with the jury. Google allows a lot more than Apple does, but because they allow so much more they strike all kinds of deals to maintain their advantage, and that doesn't look good. Apple doesn't really strike any deals, they just say no. That said, I still think the biggest reason that Apple won and Google lost is thanks to market definitions. In the Apple case the judge decided that the market was "mobile game transactions." In the Google case, the markets in question were decided to be "Android app distribution" and "Android in-app billing". If Epic had gotten the Apple market defined as "iOS app distribution" and "iOS in-app payment solutions" like they wanted, I think it would have been very hard to argue Apple didn't have a monopoly. The reverse is true for this Google case. If the market was the same "mobile game transactions" that was used in the Apple case, then all of Google's deals now look like they're desperate plays for revenue in a market where they control the market share but not the profit share. Limited only to what is happening on Android, I agree that they're pretty clear monopolists. It'll be very interesting to see what kinds of remedies the judge comes up with. He could limit the kinds of deals that Google is allowed to pursue. He could force Google to allow alternative payment systems on the Play store and/or to allow app stores in the Google Play store. With a lot of those kinds of deals, we actually already have some expectation of what Google could do to get around it thanks to Apple being forced to do the same. Sure, they'll allow you to use your own payment processor, but you still owe Google 27% of all digital transactions.